Creatures don’t kill more than they can eat, or eat more than they can digest, but we humans don’t seem to have an “off” switch for anything in our lives. Did previous famines make us gluttons? Why have our needs turned into over-the-top wants? Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs may explain some of it, but not all.

The Buddhists probably have the best understanding about suffering and ways to reach longterm happiness.

I try to ask myself if I need or want something before striving for or buying it. It’s often stopped me in my tracks but there still a lot of irresistable wants out there. They’re not always bad, though. Where would we be without the dreamers who gave us technology, architecture, running water, and everything else that we take for granted every day?